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Shadow Regime
Shadow Regime is a story serial by , telling of the rise of Necuas' Legion. Story Prologue: Nightfall Necuas sat in the command chair on his flagship, thinking about the potential consequences of his recent actions. After the mask of space-time had sent him and his factions back in time, he had begun interfering with the timeline. He remembered back to the battle of Oceaus Magna, insignificant now: how, after Neocrax's death, he had teamed up with Rajtos, the gold-armored leader of the natives, to crush the Skrall forces, not to mention the amount of Skrall traitors he had recruited. Afterward, he began moving though space, changing time to be... more appropriate for the situation. He clicked at a button under his desk to open the doors and let his generals in. They walked in single file, their steps thumping monotonously. They sat. Pridak hovered a moment; it was his first meeting and he did not know where to sit. "The end will be fine, Pridak," said Necuas calmly. "Now, as you may know, I have recently recruited Pridak and his large armies to assist in the invasion of Noctxia Magna, but what you do not know is of my trip to Metru Nui," he began, his voice hovering a moment. "This was its purpose," he finished, pulling the Nui stone from under his robes. They gasped, shocked by the magnitude of his doing. They could not turn back now. "If one of your factions is not yet ready, please speak up now," he began again. Now he looked through the room; each general represented a different faction of his grand armies. "Good. Failure is not an acceptable outcome for this assignment," he stated bluntly. "Sir," said Drussus, "what of your plan? Who shall execute it?" he asked. "Him," said Necuas lazily, while pointing to Shadrus. "His mask will allow him to appear as Ancient, who is a trusted advisor of the Shadowed One. Shadrus disappeared and his generals filed out of the room. He now sat alone, as he felt his ship follow his fleet to certain victory at the now-unprotected planet. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do to Leviathos, but he knew something must be done; that if he was protected from death by a being whose power was beyond him—which Necuas was sure was the truth—then he needed to change the course of history; make his protector suffer, watching his favorite pawn get traded away. A light flashed on his desk and he looked out his viewscreen to catch one final glimpse of the planet before it was taken by eternal night. ---- Shadrus walked throughout the dank stone halls of the Dark Hunter fortress. He waited and watched until the Dark Hunter Ancient walked into a room by himself; then he fired three shots from a tranq into the Dark Hunter's neck, bringing him down. Shadrus then matched his form and made his way to the Shadowed One's chamber. After half an hour of searching the tight, misleading tunnels, he found the Shadowed One walking to address the member that he would send to Metru Nui. "Hello, Ancient," said the Shadowed One. "Look boss, we need to talk about Leviathos," began Shadrus nervously. Being even farther back in time than Necuas meant that he had no lifeline, and if he messed up, he was done. "He has some history with Metru Nui; I predict that sending him may in fact cause his banishing from this universe and a deliberate attack on us." The Sshadowed One just laughed. "What are you trying to do? Lighten the stress of sending one of my best agents on a big mission that could blow up in his face?" "No sir. I am dead; serious." "Oh. Well, what do you suggest?" "Send those six Skakdi that we have. They seem to all be in a... friendship..." "If you really think it's necessary, then so be it, but don't ever expect a favor from me again." Chapter 1: Odina I listened as the Shadowed One read off the names of the agents to be sent to Metru Nui. They were the six Skakdi—what were their names?—Zaktan, Vezok, Reidak, Hakann, Thok, and Avak, or something like that. I, however, was sent to Zakaz to negotiate a weapons transaction with the Skakdi warlord Nektann. We filed out of the room, heading to our assigned locations; I got on a boat with my partner, Chameleon. I watched the water race by as the smell of salt splashed my face, and looked outward across the clear sky until I was certain I saw that small Mata Nui-forsaken island. I wasn't particularly fond of this mission, as I hated Skakdi and their lack of intelligence and respect. Not to mention their brutal ways of ensuring loyalty only hinted at what they must do to prisoners of war. When we hit the shore, I expected a greeting party of ambassadors, or at least those brutes' version of them; not the blunt side of a battle axe to the back of my head. ---- Upon awakening, I found the ugly face of the being we were supposed to be dealing with staring right at me. I winced at his breath, which smelled of rotting flesh, when he asked me: "Where is Odina?" "Go to Karzahni!" I screamed. That was a mistake, as, following that comment, a hot iron spear was stabbed into my unarmored stomach. I looked over at Chameleon; he winked, then looked away. It was a sign that we just might get out. Nektann's second in command ran to him and whispered something in his ear. I stared at the sandy ground of what was sure to have once been a lush forest, corrupted by war. "Good news. The Skakdi stationed on Metru Nui have finally come to their senses and told us the location." I cursed them and looked up. "An invasion force has just been launched." "And what of the prisoners?" questioned a blue Skakdi. "Execute them," he finished. I felt a burning on my hands as the ropes weakened from my Reptisapean partner's acid. I stood, unleashing a blast of plant life, throwing all the Skakdi to the ground. They jumped at us, and a fight began. I jumped on the blue one and snapped his neck, obtaining his knife, which I used to slash through several while charging up my elemental powers. Pain shot through my back as a throwing knife struck my collarbone; I unleashed it, a tsunami that washed over Zakaz like power hoses on granite walls. I grabbed Chameleon and raced to the shore, weapon blasts following closely behind as we boarded a ship and headed for Odina. ---- We were too late. I looked at where the once-ominous fortress stood; now what stood was burning ruble. I ran, helping any Dark Hunters I could see. We were outnumbered three to one. I managed to find Lariska and the Shredder alive, fighting. We joined them and made our way through rubble, Skakdi, and blasts of heat vision. After hours of sprinting through half-collapsed tunnels, we found the Shadowed One back-to-back with Sentrahk, and Ancient dead, a knife sticking out of his head. We rushed in, cutting through Skakdi. With each blow I felt connect, blood spattered the walls. For some reason, I was unmoved; maybe my years in the Hunters had desensitized me, or maybe it was the hatred I felt for the beings—no, creatures—I was slaughtering. I felt a great pain as a mental blast washed over me. Dropping to the ground with the rest, I saw the Skakdi rush us, but the Shadowed One made a wall of crystallized protodermis and shouted "Run!" which we did. We sprinted through every obstacle you could imagine until we found Airwatcher taking off in the Shadowed One's private airship. He pulled the silver battle station around to pick us up while blasting the Karzahni out of the approaching army. First, I assisted our leader in climbing aboard, but after Chameleon clambered on, a missile flew at the ship and they were forced to take evasive maneuvers. They flew away to regroup on the other side of the island by the cliffs, but Shredder insisted it was now or never. The two of us threw Lariska at them; she caught the edge and pulled herself up, then I jumped off the cliff to catch them. I felt the wind whip past my face, and saw the ocean bellow me. I thought I had missed my target until Chameleon's hand found mine and pulled me up. Now it was Shredder's turn; he jumped, and Lariska caught him, but a bullet went through his head. She pulled him up, crying, as if she could save him. I knew how it felt and thought back to Nyx. I looked tat the Shadowed one for help. He looked back at me and said, "We will go to my homeland, where it is safe and we can rally troops to destroy those traitors for everything they have done." Chapter 2: The Slaver We weren't on the island long before we heard rumors of a slaver selling to the Skakdi Empire. Lariska wanted to meet him herself, but I deduced that she still resented him for what happened to Nidhiki, even if it wasn’t his fault. I told her no and offered to do it myself. I rented myself a hoverboard to fly over a field. Upon arrival, I found a vast field next to a refueling and repair station. I landed and walked to a private area, finding my target, a monster both physically and metaphorically. A green-colored, mutated, oversized, murderous spider of a being. His name was Spinorak. “If one of them is a friend of yours, it's not my problem. That is what they get for making an enemy of me.” “No. I’m interested in your work with the Skakdi Empire.” “And what about it?” “I’m looking to destroy those primitive pieces of Rahi dung.” “And you want a ticket into Metru Nui?” “Just put me in the next airship and I’ll eliminate those pathetic excuses for wasting the necessities of other beings.” “And how does this benefit me?” “Besides the fact I’ll pay you? As I eliminate, they will become more and more paranoid, and need more and more support, which means more and more business for you. Not to mention the Dark Hunters will have jobs for you." “Fine. Get down there and get in a stasis tube. It’ll hurt, but the man about to destroy the Skakdi Empire's got to be able to take pain. And about the money...” I gave him a bag of widgets and walked in. ---- We arrived at an ex-loading dock, where scared beings were being forced into interrogation rooms all around me. I manged to slip a comm device into the pocket of a Matoran I met, named Zatith. I was brought into a metal room and strapped into a chair, where I was told to wait. I didn’t have to; Hakann emerged from the door immediately. He checked some tablets with data about me and instantly made the call: “This one's too dangerous. Get Avak to make a nice little cell for him.” Before they could get me, I deactivated the chair and jumped to my feat, beating a Skakdi until he dropped his knife, which I scooped up before it even hit the ground. Another Skakdi lunged at me, but I disarmed him and heard a disturbing break as I slipped the knife between his ribs. Now only Hakann remained. “Stop!” he yelled, but it was too late. I sank the knife into his ugly head. Blood poured onto the steel floor. I collected the weapons of the dead Skakdi and ran out through the crowd of slaves and prisoners, evading as many guards as possible. Eventually, I found daylight, and climbed over a wall, landing in water. I was in Ga-Metru. I swam out of the water, pulled out my comm device, and called Spinorak. A raspy voice answered on the other end. “I assume the massive order I received has to do with you?” “Hakann's dead,” I responded coldly. “Ah. Good. Now, you’ll need to know about your next targets and how to take them out.” “Keep talking,” I told him. “Vezok is training the army. Kill him and you’ll weaken them tremendously. But you’ll need an army too. Reidak guards the slaves and keeps them in line, while Avak guards the prisoners too dangerous to be given slave work. Once both of them are dead, you’ll have troops. Then get your buddies on this island to come, and you blow Thok and Zaktan right out of their precious tower.” “Great,” was my only response before I killed the transmission. Chapter 3: Assassin at Heart I walked among the shadows in the heart of the once-great city, carefully watching my step so as not to fall off the roof of the barracks. A stone building built with marble monuments to the Piraka around it, it looked more like sacrificial site then a training center. I took out the rifle I had “borrowed” from a watch guard that had dashed after me following Hakann’s death. Aiming down the scope, my vision went blurry for a moment, but I zoomed it out and saw, with perfect clarity, the face of that demon Vezok. I steadied it to fire; in the Dark Hunters, we were trained to use long-distance weapons like this to take out targets, but I had never used this exact model. It was specially crafted for Skakdi, and the gun was heavier and bigger than I was used to. I pulled out a silencer and screwed it on, the dark metal hot on my hand in the heat of the day. I counted my heartbeats, and in between two of them, I pulled the trigger. The gun recoiled back at me, but I held it in place long enough to make sure the bullet hit its mark. A satisfying panic arose from the room. Soldiers had lost their only trainer and were scared to death. Many deserted immediately, higher-ranking officers calling at them. They searched for a killer, but I was gone to a gutter, sneaking under a window, before they even checked the rooftop where I had just been. Moving through the cover of the buildings on either side, I progressed slowly, knowing the alert would be high for my next target. With two Skakdi leaders dead, security must have doubled already. I took out my comm device and made a call. A scared voice answered, “Hello?” “Zatith?” I asked. “Yes,” he said, hope in his voice. “I’m on my way to free you and the other slaves, but I need help. I need you to start a break attempt. The distraction will give me enough time to break in and free you.” “Alright,” he said, “but please hurry.” The conversation ended with an annoying beep. I strode through the streets and roofs of a primal city drenched in the blood of thousands of innocents. I leaped onto a rock wall, from which I flipped onto a roof. I sprinted to the other end and took a leap of faith into a chute. I felt the wind whip my face and eyes, and then splat as my body fell face-first into a liquid transport system. I flowed through the green liquid, unafraid of Skakdi, as the primitives were not advanced enough to use this system. I heard commotion outside in Le-Metru, and saw gunshots fly through the windows of an ominous building that could only be where they kept the slaves. I dive-rolled out of the chute and hit the ground safely. I ran to the building, but when I reached it, I found Karzahni: Matoran, Toa and Skakdi locked in a free-for-all. Knives and makeshift weapons flew as guards tried to clutch their guns long enough to fire. I ran in and a Skakdi lunged at me, but I grabbed his arm, unholstering his pistol and scattering blood on the floor. Now I ran, determined to get my kill, pushing Matoran aside while shooting and stabbing Skakdi. Then I saw him. His black armor and buzzsaw gave him away. I ran after him, but a white Skakdi knocked me to the ground. I reached for my handgun, but he stomped on my hand. Pain shot through my body as I tried to fight back. He reached down with his knife to kill me, which is exactly when I released a burst of high-pressure water into his face. Jumping to my feet before him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and twisted until I herd a nice crack and he fell limp. I grabbed my gun and leaped forward to kill Reidak, whom I tripped with a vine I ensnared his foot with. Holding the gun in one hand, I kept it level with his head. He looked at me with fear then anger as he charged his eyebeams for one final fight. “Don’t,” I said. “You wouldn’t want to die tired like the slaves.” Then I pulled the trigger, heard a bang, and the Skakdi fell dead on the ground. Fear filled the room as the Skakdi noticed their leader was dead, and the inspired slaves quickly slaughtered the rest. I yelled to the victorious slaves, “Come with me if you desire to live. And believe me, we will retake this island.” An applause followed. “But first, I have a message to deliver to Avak the jailer.” At this, the slaves gave brutal, blood-curdling cheers. The next hour was nothing short of massacre; my newfound army of slaves parading through the streets, hacking down Skakdi as we went, all the while navigating to find Avak. One Skakdi and a couple of snipers against an army. The kill wasn’t even worth mentioning. Chapter 4: Blood Rage After liberating all prisoners on the island, my armies advanced and took over the Ga-Metru docks to make a safe landing ground for the Dark Hunters. Because of the new addition of troops that were “too dangerous to be slaves,” we were able to give my Matoran a well-deserved and much needed break; not to mention the huge turnout of hideaways who had arrived at the docks shortly after our capture of them. Then I saw the Dark Hunter fleet on the horizon. This was our day of reckoning. This was the day we took the great city of Metru Nui itself. ---- The battle lasted hours; neither side giving victory to the other, both willing to fight to the death to win. Eventually, Chameleon and I sneaked past the crowd and got on the roof above Thok's home, the obvious hideout for the two leaders. We dropped down, flying through the windows. As the clear glass broke, I felt shards grasping by body, but I kept going. I drew my knife and landed knife-first on an unsuspecting Skakdi’s neck. Chaos consumed the small home as Skakdi bodyguards ran to protect their leaders, but we were up in seconds, creating a storm of warfare, leaving bullets and throwing knives in the place of men. A Skakdi lunged at Chameleon, but he jumped over his arm and slit his throat with his claws as he rolled. Another tried to impale me in the head, but I bent his wrist until he dropped the knife, then held an automatic handgun to his stomach area, pulling the trigger. The guards were down, but Zaktan and Thok were out in the street, running for their lives. We chased through the streets, the sounds of battle devouring the normal tranquility of Metru Nui. I unholstered my plasma cannon and discharged a ball of red fire at Zaktan, but he changed into a cloud of green before the projectile hit its mark. Thok wheeled around, firing ice shards. We dodged most of them, but one hit me dead in the stomach, knocking me down. Chameleon turned around, yelling, “Squid?” “I’m fine keep going!” I yelled back. He charged them, but they jumped into an elevator leading to the top of the Coliseum. Chameleon chased after them, but a fiery explosion consumed him and he met his death at the base of the tower. “No!” I screamed. "First Shredder, all those I lost on Odina, and now him!" As the rage built up in me from the losses, I remembered more. I remembered every Dark Hunter killed, every Noctian that died while I lived on the islands, especially N... N... Ny... Nyx. I exploded like a volcano. Green filled my vision and plasma shot from my hands, murdering a squad of skakdi fleeing the battlefield. The rage in me was so much that I could not help but release my anger in blasts of lighting, fire, and shadows, otherwise known as pain and death, but more importantly revenge. I jumped on the tower, climbing its walls, changing my density as I saw fit to make jumps better, all the while ensuring that death and destruction were the only fate that met those below. I had turned the island into Karzahni. The fire of plasma and lightning burned on every flammable object, a constant shadow loomed over the city, and the screams of the dying surrounded any who dared to approach my kill zone. Thok bent down to blast me, but a wall of fire consumed his shots and forced him to jump back like the coward he was. As I looked up I saw the repulsive face of Zaktan looking at me, a gun in his hand. I knew what would happen, so I released the tower and fell backwards. He fired, but my Kraata power allowed me to dodge it, though not by much. As I hit the ground, I became intangible, floating back to the surface. A Skakdi tried to stab me, but vines wrapped around his body and crushed him, the sound of his bones being crushed to powder music to my ears. I looked up at the tower and, using my sonic scream, shouted: “You hide from me, you coward, you murderer, you Piraka. Well, how about you come down here and fight like the warrior you claim you are?” I felt the anger well up more. My whole world was consumed by a green haze, and then I released an earthquake so powerful that he entire island shook. I watched as buildings fell all over the island, and soon the Coliseum joined them. I watched it break and fall, Thok with it as he was abandoned by his partner, who became a cloud of protodites that flew toward the ground. I believe Thok died on impact, but I would have preferred that he had felt the pain of the impact in full and died when the weight of the entire Coliseum came crashing down on him. Zaktan landed and drew his sword, but I beat his ugly face until it bled, then tackled him. He tried to morph back, but I trapped him in a stasis field. Now unable to move, his only resistance against me was to show the hatred in his eyes. I stood over him, the cloud disappearing from my vision, but the original anger at his crimes against the Hunters remained. “The Shadowed One has unfinished business with you, but that’s all you have been and all you ever will be, isn’t it? Unfinished business. You think you're important? You think you matter? You’re not, and you don't. You’ll always be just another pawn in someones plans, or an annoying partner that will be disposed of once the work is complete. I am through with you now, but you can always find another person to become worthless trash for.” I stared at him right in the eyes and then fired my eye beams, now the evil of his intentions burned everlasting onto his face. ---- After being personally congratulated by the Shadowed One, Roodaka asked to speak to me privately. Following her, I walked into a room, only to be hit by a tranquilizer dart. But just before I fell to the ground unconscious, I saw Spinorak and Roodaka laughing together. Chapter 5: Destral "And that is what brought you here?" stated Teridax. "Sir, his vitals suggest he's telling the truth," rang out a voice from the back room. "You have quite the interesting story, Leviathos," he said. "You could say that," responded Leviathos. "Well, while your friends may have betrayed you, they were right, as I certainly paid a fine price for you. Do you know why?" "Because your order is going to punish me for what I did to Metru Nui?" asked Leviathos, a tone of annoyance surfacing in his voice. He now opened his eyes for the first time, seeing the shadowy face of the dark being in front of him and the black metallic walls of the chamber around him. There was a window with two beings examining several monitors; the one he could make out undoubtedly showed is heart rate on its electric blue screen. Looking into the eyes of his captor, he sensed that this being of shadows did not have any intention of reprimanding him for destroying several districts of Metru Nui. Which was why he was not surprised when Teridax said "No." A sinister smile began to creep across his face. "You're here because you are one of us." "What?" asked Leviathos. "You're a Makuta," responded Teridax. Leviathos began to hear the beat of his heartlight ring through his ears. "But I'm a Noctian." "Not entirely. Mata Nui created you for some purpose, as a... hybrid, if you will, which brings me to why you're here. "I need someone I can trust without question in the Brotherhood," he said, a great metal blind closing off the monitoring room, no doubt to hide the nature of the conversation. "I need a right-hand man, and a new addition to the Brotherhood will be perfect. Hust go on and live the powerful desirable life that is that of a Brotherhood member, and all I will ask from you is that on one day, I will call on you for a favor, and when I do, you must back me wholeheartedly." The restraints on Leviathos were released. "But..." started Leviathos. Teridax cut him off, saying, "You may either find your way to the main hall, which should be easy enough, or you can walk away—the latter option of which will result in you being dead by tomorrow morning." Then he teleported away. Leviathos got up and opened the door. Sunlight flooded in through windows, blinding him. After a minute, he adjusted and walked up a series of marble steps, finding a great hatch above him. He spun the the hatch and pushed it open, clambering up a ladder to reach the top. The metal felt cold on his hands and he guessed he had been the first to use it in decades. Now on the shore of the famous home island of the Makuta—Destral. Closing the hatch behind him, he began to look around until he saw a large, ominous building that could only be the main hall. Chapter 6: Wild Card He was the wild card no one expected. Teridax thought him useful, but could have never guessed his true potential. The Brotherhood had found it necessary to protect Matoran of different islands. Leviathos was assigned to his homeland Noctia, and was adored and respected from the moment he set foot on the island. It was well-known that he had left to avenge the deaths caused by a rogue Toa, and now he had returned to defend them from any threat. The day would be remembered in Noctian history for its great importance. He took a step off the metal rail of the ship, and his clawed mechanical foot touched the tinted sand of the Noctian coast, walking slowly up the beach, the sand moving with each step. A crowd had started to form on either side of him, now waving and screaming with excitement. Many were faces he knew and remembered; others knew him, even though they had never met. He walked through a layer of dark trees onto a street that was normally flooded with activity, but it had been stopped for this occasion. He walked up to a building guarded by six of Noctia's finest soldiers. He approached, and and inside lay the last Chancellor of Noctia. A large hole lay in the direct center of his face, perfectly between his eyes. The wound was left by an armor-piercing shot taken by a sniper on a nearby roof top during a victory campaign only three days prior. It had plunged the island nation into chaos, until Leviathos had been announced as the new protector of Noctia. He took another step, looking into the sarcophagus to see him still lightly clutching the imperial staff from the founding of Noctia. Two vollies of three shots fired into the sky, and Leviathos carefully reached in, a picked up the staff, and shut the lid. He turned to the people as the six soldiers placed the sarcophagus into the ground. He smiled, arms bearing the staff, and with it he spoke in an ancient language which his people had spoken before the spread of the Matoran tongue, swearing an oath to defend Noctia from all threats and to rule it fairly. The ritual was over, and he was now the undisputed ruler of Noctia. ---- Leviathos hurried back to Destral. Teridax had called the Convocation. This is not good, thought Leviathos. He's rushed the entire plan. He jumped out of the airship, diving as fast as he could to hit ht rocky shore of Destral. It appeared rather gray and dull, which would deceive the mind into questioning why any being would be running across, or why thousands of troops stood on duty outside. He slammed through the double doors to sit down in his chair, next to one of the heads of the table, closest to Teridax. Teridax was already waiting, and nodded to Leviathos to sit down. It took every bit of willpower in him to stop himself from yelling, "What the Karzahni are you thinking?" at Teridax, but instead he sat calmly looking off into the distance, trying to regain his breath. Within minutes, the other Makuta flooded into the room, filling the seats. After all were seated, Teridax cleared his throat and began his speech, in which he detailed his glorious plans to take over all of the Matoran universe. When Miserix refused this idea, anger and disgust coming onto his face, Teridax asked the Brotherhood to make a choice as to who they would follow. Leviathos stood up and walked behind Teridax, immediately followed by Gorast. After the Makuta had chosen sides, it was obvious that Teridax had won, and Miserix's few followers abandoned him. Leviathos looked at Gorast and Bitil and they nodded a silent agreement to what Teridax would surely have them do, and he did. ---- The next weeks, their only mission was to track down all of his opposition and assassinate them. Simple but fun. Even the strongest ones fell; their mistake in trusting the weakness of the Brotherhood's army was their downfall, when the united armies of Noctia joined the fight as well. Now Leviathos had weight to throw around and became Teridax's top general, and soon after began the conquest of the Matoran universe. ---- By now, most of the known Matoran universe had fallen under Brotherhood control, and Mata Nui was already in a deep slumber. Leviathos sat in his throne on Noctia, watching troops running back and forth through a window. He stretched out, satisfied with the Brotherhood's—no, his empire. He as watched the sun set, and darkness soon spread across the island. He reached for the light switch, but found it without use, so he pushed a button to turn on his built-in-transmitter, only to find that the power was out. He called for a guard, but when one started to come, he and the rest were slammed into walls and pinned, unable to move. Leviathos ignited torches on the walls with his plasma powers, only to notice a dark being walking into his office. The being had a familiar face, but he could not place it on a being in particular. He walked up to Leviathos' desk with a glare and proclaimed, "This has to end, Leviathos." "What has to end?" retorted Leviathos, a bad feeling rising inside his gut. "This, all of it. This... charade of yours, where you think you can live destiny differently. Now, come with me." "No," responded Leviathos, now starting to understand. "Are you doing this for her?" asked the being sinisterly. "Don't you dare speak of her!" responded Leviathos. "Is it perhaps that you honestly believe that the might of an empire may bring her back?" "Enough!" yelled Leviathos, thrusting at him with his sword, but the blade disintegrated as it approached the being. "Do you think you can really pull this off? Do you think you are one of us? No. You are very much a mortal. Want proof?" Leviathos felt his left forearm magnetize to the desk in front of him. He struggled, but was still unable to move when a cleaver came down on his arm with brutal force, cutting off his left hand. "Just remember that could have easily been your head," said the being, vanishing. And with him left the restraints on Leviathos' bodyguards, who ran to him, trying to treat him. During all the commotion, his eyelids slowly closed and he was enveloped by the world of dreams. Chapter 7: Reality Check Leviathos lay in the dark, writhing with fear and anger as the world vanished before his eyes. His armies, the Brotherhood, their conquests—his conquests—disappearing in a blink of an eye. He knew that he should not have messed with that being, but he had not predicted that Void would come and ruin his life. But then he wondered about what would happen to him next. Would he die in an emptiness lacking the oxygen to keep him alive, or die alone in a deserted world? He flailed his arms and legs rapidly, as if simply to defy the being who took his empire away, but then something new entered his mind. New memories and thoughts, not new, but rather... forgotten. Now he did not feel anger at the being, but disgust at himself for all of the innocents he had murdered to give rise to evil. Now he remembered how Necuas had yanked his life away from him, imprisoning him in a devilish past where he fought for Teridax. At this thought, the void faded around him, and he laid face-down in the soil of the Noctxia Magna forest. He was home, and he was alive. ---- It did not, however, take long for a very small metal object floating around the planet to take a picture of Leviathos and send that picture to a nearby flagship, in which sat a muscular green-masked Makuta. "Drussus, send a patrol, and fast. I want him here alive." "Yes, sir!" yelled the Toa of shadow, running out the door. "I am sorry, Necuas, that I failed to keep the Noctian in the past reali—" "It's fine, Shadrus. For once, it wasn't your fault," said Necuas, cutting him off. "Yes, sir," he said nervously as he walked away. Necuas typed in a simple command on his keyboard to fix the satellite onto the Noctian. Then he typed a twelve-digit code that sent a message to every one of his agents on the planet. The invasion was to begin. ---- Leviathos still lay in the ground when he heard footsteps in the treeline. He shot up, swords drawn, ready to kill his enemy. A gunshot rang out, a cloud of dirt springing up behind him. He lunged at his foes, impaling a Toa of shadow on his sword while viciously swinging the other one. A Toa rushed him, only to be hacked to pieces. He ran again, swinging his swords, splattering the blood of two Toa all over the ground. However, when he turned to Durssus, he found a gun level with his head. "Drop them," ordered the Toa, but a blast of light consumed him for an instant, and in the next, a crumpled body replaced the once-powerful being. Leviathos looked and saw Dakap looking back. He was, after all, an old friend. "Come with me, and quickly," he said. "Where are we going?" asked Leviathos. "The Noctxia Magna underground." Chapter 8: Survivors Necuas had taken the planet in days. Those unlucky enough to survive the onslaught found themselves in the Noctxia Magna underground. It was a small establishment set up on Veii Nui, avoiding the armies under Necuas's control. This was where Leviathos had ended up, but not to hide—rather, to fight. He walked up the rocky shore of the island, the light of the full moon shining gently on the water bellow. He watched his step to avoid a very quick and painful death. Reaching the treeline, he remembered the instructions the Toa had left him before disappearing; he looked around and found a rock with a slight burn mark on it. Reaching under it, he hoisted it above his head, pulling a wire and disengaging the trap that protected the underground. He had five seconds before it would reset and incinerate him and the rest of the coastline. He ran and dove into dirt, avoiding the trap, then stood up and began walking. After a short while of walking between the trees, he turned and found the gray, uneven rocks that marked the bay. He slowly descended into the darkness, grasping the dull rocks carefully. Reaching the bottom, he turned around to see a city with bright lights, a tall building standing out not so far away, and he began to sprint, feeling the cool air on his face that reminded him of a time when he used to live on Noctia. Before the war, and before the Dark Hunters. He stopped, a cloud of sand now forming in the air as two guards held guns pointed at his head. The city had managed to stay hidden due to the rock formations and tree overgrowth, but he was offended when they asked him how he found it; it was a giant city on a deserted island. After the long conversation, they let him in and he proceeded with his mission of recruiting troops to rebel. The Underground, however, was not in as good shape as he had thought. Food was scarce, and many turned to violence and robbery to obtain it. Also, many had run to a Noctian gang called the Tribe, which was known for protection racketeering and smuggling, both necessities to many weaker inhabitants of the city. He had to learn how to read people differently. Unlike before, they were desperate, but had to little hope to fight. Although some talked big, it took him days until he found one solid supporter. He was an ex-Dark Hunter Reptisapean, who went by the code name Chameleon. Chapter 9: For the Republic Leviathos strolled through the dark streets, alone. It was past midnight and all the lights were out, as it was around the time of Necuas's patrols. Walking through a gray alleyway, Leviathos made his way over to a cloaked being and nodded. A simple, almost undetectable code. "The republic wishes to aid your cause," he said. "Excellent," said Leviathos. "All we need is transportation, and you have yourself an army." "What about--?" the soldier started. "You will be paid the price we agreed on. Now go; we're getting tired of hiding in the shadows." With that, the being walked out of the town, leaving Leviathos alone in the night. ---- Necuas hadn't known what hit him. He had a small army and an outpost on Noctia--nothing that could stand up to the Republic's armada. Within minutes, they had destroyed all of his forces in the island chain and picked up Leviathos' army. Fear filled the hearts of Leviathos's men as they saw Necuas's response. Thousands of ships, most likely his entire fleet. His flagship visibly reminding them of how doomed they were. But that was not enough for the Republic as they fired back. Lights and colors flashed through the sky, as energy, missiles, and bullets flew into enemy ships, sending them spinning to the ground. Nearby explosions rocked the hull of the ship he stood in, as Leviathos developed a plan. He ran into the the command room, and asked to speak to one of the high-ranking officers. A Toa walked over him and asked what he needed, but Leviathos requested that they speak in private. They walked into a separate room as Leviathos told him his plan. "That's insane," responded the Toa. "I can't let you do that!" he yelled. "Well, that's too bad, isn't it?" responded Leviathos, drawing a silenced pistol. "Give me your keys." The Toa reluctantly gave him the keys, and Leviathos walked back to his army. Together, he and Chameleon waited to initiate their plan. Two smaller gunships fired on each other, and an all-out dogfight began out side. The two soldiers strapped on their breathing tanks and jumped out of the ship. They punctured a hole in their spare tank and sent themselves flying at the enemy ship. The ship seemingly flew to them through space, and with perfect timing, they caught the sides. Chameleon planted an explosive charge in the bottom, allowing them in. They both activated camouflage powers as they made their way into a decompression room. The doors opened on the other side, and silenced fire consumed the crew. Working through room after room, they killed every last living creature save the three in the control room. The doors opened and two of the beings fell to the ground. Within seconds, Leviathos had the barrel of his gun, now undisguised, held firmly against the pilot's head. "Take us to the flagship, now!" barked Chameleon. Chapter 10: Downfall Leviathos held his breath as he herd the metali click of the ship docking and the airlocks prepring to realease. He drew his weapons a sword in one hand, a slenced pistol in the other, he looked around at the others and nodded deciding they were adaquitly prepared. The doors opened opended revealing the shape of a toa of shadow, within an instant he was on the ground he body riddled with bullet holes. Leviathos gingerly lifted his foot over the guards bleeding body and stepped on the remaining grey part of the floor. The rest of his team assebled outside of the small craft and the toa of shadow pilots were executed, on his signal his men charged forward and smashed down a metal wall, setting off an alarm but giving them acsess to the rest of the ship. He ran increasing the size of his strides to avoid the upcoming onslaught. He herd guards footsteps getting closer behind him so he spun around and pulled the trigger on his pistol three times each one bringing a difrent guard down. He contiued running as he pushed the realese pin and loaded in a new magizine. They experienced more guards, so he lunged at them swingigng his sword in various angles illing some and distranting the rest long enough to shoot them. He sprinted now feeling adrenaline surge through his body he jumped and dove into the comand center, fireing off his pistol taking down both Necuas's head of sucreity Drussus and one of his top generals. Necuase spun using teleptathy to slam Leviathos into a wall. As the pain whipped through Leviathos's boy Necuase drew his sword he swung it back but as he sent the blade foward, he fell to the ground the dark shape of Kaluu standing over him. Leviathos jumped down to help as kaluu was thrown across the room by Necuas's increasing power. He called a group of makuta over who kaluu quickly engaged leaving Necuase and Leviathos to battle it out while there men foguht outside and other makuta fought only a few feet away. Leviathos lunged swinging his sword only to be thrown backwords, he held of his sword spining it to parie Necuas's attacks. Leviathos went for a strike when he sent to the ground by a swarm of incets biting him setting his skin ablaze with pain, but he clenched his fists and released a ball of plasma into the swarm incinerating them. He telported behind Necuase and used his sonic screech, dioritanting him, then he went in slashing his armor, until the Makuta teleported. He reapered across the room clutching his stomach as antidermis leaked out. He typed a comand, scanned his DNA, and...Leviathos rushed him but the whole ship shook and knocked him down as it fired a nuculear missle. Necuase began chuckling until a strange noise came out of his mouth, followed by a flow of antidermis leaving his body dead and mangled on on the floor. the mist made its way to the Noctian but a boom was herd throughout the fight a republic ship sacrificed its self for the rest detonating the nuke on necuas's side of the battlefield. The explosion hit the flagship and Leviathos felt helpless, as the fire rushed towards him. To be contiued...' Category:Stories Category:Gigas Magna Storyline